Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Tell me. No cameras.” He instructed.
Therefore, I did.
“Mother fucker. You have to be kidding me! I’ve been wondering for four months how he managed to pull that shit off!” He fumed.
Then he smiled an evil smile and got up from his chair, and left the room.
The smile slid off my face when Payton entered the room. The Chief didn’t stay as a buffer either. She glared at me, crossed her arms above her belly, cocked her hips, and slowly tapped her foot. Then her finger got into it when she didn’t get the desired effect.
Then a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, and I was on my feet in an instant, gathering her up and cradling her against my chest. I felt her hand sneak up the front of my stomach, come to a stop just under my nipple, and then she twisted the ever-loving shit out of it.
“Motherfucker!” I yelled and jumped back from her.
Her fingers held on though, and twisted even harder until finally her fingers slipped the hold she had on my nipple. I rubbed it trying to get rid of the sting, and glared at her.
“I cannot believe you did this to me! Do you have any idea how awful it is to be watching the news at work, and hear the news anchor say that your husband has been arrested for beating up a cop?” She yelled, waving her hands wildly.
“I did no such thing!” I ground out.
“Then why are you in here?” She said slightly less shrilly.
“It was only breaking and entering. I might or might not have held him prisoner, but I sure didn’t hurt him!” I explained.
“Like that’s any better!” She fumed.
Okay, she might’ve been right, but I had to do it, otherwise O’Hare wouldn’t make a move. Walking slowly towards her, I gauged her reaction. Seeing that she wasn’t protesting my nearness, I snuck my arms around her tiny frame, and pulled her roughly into my body. Her belly kept her from getting as close as I would have wanted, but feeling the baby squirm in between us was completely worth it.
“Trust me.” I whispered into her ear.
“You’re going to miss our first Christmas.” She cried.
“Honey, that’s a week away. I’ll be home in three, four days tops.” I guaranteed.
“Okay. Will they let me have a conjugal visit?” She asked as she squirmed.
I couldn’t help but laugh. This woman sure did know how to make everything better. My day could have been for the birds, but one cheesy joke or one sappy text message from her and my world would be right again.
ɸ
Payton
I hauled my gangly self, belly leading the way, out of my car. Taking stomping steps, I made my way into the main office and slammed the door shut behind me. Sam, James, Jack, and Elliott were all doing various things, and froze when I entered. Gabe brought up the rear, closing the door quietly behind him, glaring at me for shutting the door in his face.
It wasn’t my fault he wouldn’t leave me alone. “Tell me.”
“Tell you what?” James feigned innocence.
Once you’re mad at someone, everything they do seems offensive. There James was idly tapping away with his pencil, and I wanted to rip it from his hands and stab him in the ass with it. Even Sam was annoying me, idly nibbling on a piece of beef jerky.
I walked right up to him, snatched it out of his hands, and ripped into it with my back molars. The flavor burst to life on my tongue and I barely kept the moan of deliciousness in check. I glared icily at him, and then turned that stare to the other men in the room. They raised their arms in surrender, and I sat down in the chair next to the desk and waited.
They couldn’t do anything with me sitting right here, and they wouldn’t kick me out either. After all, my husband was just thrown in jail, I was fifteen months pregnant with a rugby player, and I was hormonal. They knew better than to mess with this.
The door to the office swung open, and Ember, Cheyenne, and Blaine entered. They glanced around and instantly became aware of the tenseness in the office.
“What’s going on?” Ember asked finally.
“Umm…” Gabe hesitated.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” I muttered and stood, turning to face them. “My husband was arrested for assaulting a police officer. He’s now in jail, where he will remain without bail because he assaulted a cop, and the judge wasn’t too happy about that.”
A chorus of “What’s?” filled the air. Then what I wanted to happen, happened. They best friends a girl could ask for all turned and regarded their significant others, waiting for an explanation. Groans from the men proceeded the looks, but they still didn’t give in. My lovely friends weren’t going to give in either, so this was about to get interesting.
“I expect an explanation as soon as I get back, dammit.” I said before stomping back to my idling car, patting Alpha on the head, and heading back to work.
I never made it, though.
I’d just reached the intersection of Grand and University when our light went from green to yellow. I stopped for the light, but the motorcycle that had been following Gabe and I for the last mile did not.
The accident played out like one does in a movie. There was a screech and squeal of tires. The sound of bending metal and booming impact. Horns honking. Smoke was filling the air, and then all went silent for a few seconds. People exited their vehicles cautiously, but I didn’t even hesitate. I ran to the downed victims that were thrown over sixty feet away from where their motorcycle had been impacted with the truck.
Gabe was there, too. Still following me as he’d done before, but this time I was happy for his presence. He was a combat medic and would be extremely helpful in trying to stabilize the patients until the ambulances were able to get here.